The Coffee Trader by David Liss is a novel about 17th century Amsterdam.

Topping for more suggestions.

Nicholas Freeling's Piet Van der Valk whodunnits. They may be out of print by now but you're sure to find them in second hand bookshops.

KarenK,

Do you remember the name of the restaurant mentioned in "The Burgermeister's Daughter"? I hope to attend a Goethe Institute in Schwabisch Hall this summer, and I'd like to drop by the restaurant, as well as find the book, of course.

One I just happen *cough* to be selling it on Amazon - "Postcards from No Man's Land" by Aidan Chambers. It's about a teenager in modern times who's visiting the Netherlands, and finds the woman who sheltered his father after the Arnhem debacle. Along the way he learns a lot about himself, his family, and life in the Netherlands.

Sybille Bedford "A Legacy" - an Anglo-German family story.

Harry Mulisch - "The Assault". Aftermath in the life of a Dutch professional haunted by something that happened in WW2.

Going to Dresden? Then how about Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five".

This is a great thread to get your kids to prep for their trip and perhaps build some excitement. Even the History 12 curriculum made my oldest request stops in Berlin, Dresden and Munich.

Got to go. I'm off to the library to find some of recommended books.

There have been some great responses on here that I have been enjoying. I have an additional request for some more specific suggestions. Maybe someone can help out. I've read, and will continue to read, the contemporary and 20th century works, as well as the classic Goethe, Hesse, etc., but I was looking for novels set in, or first person accounts from, the earlier periods in Germany.
Maybe something to capture the medieval life in the Rhein Valley or Roman influence on Germanic lands. Even more modern authors writing about experiences in the Rhein Valley or Bavaria. Anyone have any suggestions? It doesn't have to be great literature, just something to add flavor to my visit and a departure from the World War I and II reflections. Thanks!!

Yes, "Simplicissimus" by Grimmelshausen, written around 1668. It's the story of a simple farm boy, during the 30 years war. The original german version is hard to read even for Germans, but there are editions in modernized language (and in English) available.

updating this list which popped up when I was looking for another thread. How about Le Carre's A small Town in Germany.
Also a great travel memoir Patrick Leigh Fermor's A Time of Gifts

Great list! Glad to see this popped up again.

I'd like to second "Buddenbrooks" by Thomas Mann since I am reading it right now for my book club (two people are reading it in the original German so we will have fun talking about the translations). The 1994 John E. Woods translation is excellent - it really seems to capture Mann's idioms, humor, and style.

This book does not take place in Hamburg but rather an unnamed town, which is closely based on Mann's hometown of Luebeck. Apparently Mann's (not always flattering) descriptions of upper class life and individual people so closely matched reality that many of the citizens of Luebeck were outraged when the book was published!

Despite its tragic subtitle ("The Decline of a Family") it really is a marvelous snapshot of 19th-century life in Germany.

For fiction set in Germany I suggest Berlin Stores by Christopher Isherwood and The Day Before Sunrise by Thomas Wiseman. Sunrise is at the top of my list of World War II thrillers. For books about Germany the best short history I've read is Germany, by Gordon Craig. I also suggest Wiemar, A Cultural History, by Walter Laquer. Both discuss German fiction, Craig in the period 1866-1945, and Laquer for the 1920's.

not a book, but a must-see for anyone traveling to Berlin is the movie "The Lives of Others." Won Best Foreign Language film, and it's phenomenal. Even if you're not traveling there, you should see it!

I am SO glad this thread came up also! I was going to post this question myself, as my husband asked me about books to read in preparation for our Berlin trip in September.

If anyone else has suggestions for fiction or nonfiction books, we'd love to hear them. Also movies that we could rent.

We saw "Lives of Others" last weekend, and liked it very much. It was well acted and very interesting. I believe the filmmaker was in his early 30's, which impressed me even more.

<u>Drink to Yesterday</u>, by Manning Coles - a WWI spy thriller set in Holland and Germany.

ruemorguepress.com/authors/coles.html

for movies Run Lola Run is set in Berlin. And don't forget Cabaret and the 1955 version of I am a Camera

The Riddle of the Sands is a classic spy story by Erskine Childers set in the North Sea off the Frisian islands. There is a movie version with Michael York

for some german reading:
Projekt Gutenberg - DE
http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/index.htm

I am very thrilled to present my DH's first contribution to Fodors! I am copying here his suggestions:

there were some good novelists in the old GDR who were very good, including Jurek Becker (his book &quot;Jacob the Liar&quot; was made into a film with Robin Williams, but any of his books are very good), Christa Wolf and Stefan Heym. I'm pretty sure that Christa Wolf's books are translated into english.

Wolf Bierman was / is an excellent, politically engaged singer songwriter and essayist. If you can get a collection of his essays translated into english, do it: they are excellent and give sharp, penetrating insights into German culture, history, language etc. He is opinionated and passionate about Germany.

Lion Feuchtwanger writes eloquently about the Jewish experience in Germany and is worth checking out. I also liked Klaus Mann's &quot;Mephisto&quot;. This book was was also made into film many years ago. I'm pretty sure that Klaus Mann was one of Thomas Mann's children.

I will join the recommendation of some above: G&uuml;nter Grass. My favorite by him was &quot;Too Far Afield&quot; which in a sly way compares the re-unification of Germany to the original unification under Bismarck. Grass backs into subjects so you are not sure where he is going until you have past it. I have not revisited Berlin since the fall of the wall, and this book has put that revisit on my to-do-list.

I also liked &quot;Crab Walk&quot; and &quot;The Call of the Toad&quot;. I have &quot;Dog Years&quot; on order. I will give &quot;Flounder&quot; a chance based on Rufus's recommendation in the future.

Regards, Gary

The ARms of Krupp by William manchester is a fascinating popular history book

Even though they were old posts, thanks to KT and PatrickLondon for the recommendation of The Assault by Harry Mulisch.
We were in Amsterdam a year ago, and I really enjoyed reading this. It's a wrenching story, but well-written. I wasn't prepared for the ending...

Annette